It Must Be Spring
by Laerkstrein
Summary: It was amazing, the things she could do to him. Even without her fingers grazing his skin. Companion piece to "Unwritten Notes."


**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Bleach, _or any of the _Bleach_ characters used in this fic. They all belong to Tite Kubo: the genius behind the captivating manga that started it all. I only own any of my original characters that I choose to include, as well as any of my own original plot ideas.

**It Must Be Spring**

**A/N: **Follow-up to "Unwritten Notes."

* * *

><p>There was a white flash, his head smacking the floor. He looked up, the smile on her face now gone. Of course, she'd found a flaw, even when he'd said little more than a word. That must have been why she was distancing herself. She leaned on her hand, eyes drawn to the garden she'd planted just off the veranda. It seemed she was staring at the camellias that lined the water.<p>

The silence was unnerving, as if she were waiting for the right moment in which to spring some impossible question. That's just how it was. Retsu's questions were always the most unnerving. With anyone else, it was simple, swift. He would give an answer, and their curiosity, or whatever it was, would appear to be sated.

She was the opposite. It had to be believable, sincere. It couldn't be the usual, half-planned bullshit he handed out to subordinates and the like.

She wanted it to mean something.

It began to drive him mad, the waiting. Making him feel like she was the one in control. Mayuri hated it. He'd never been good with bowing his head and following orders. No, it was far simpler to take the initiative; to be the one calling the shots.

Contrary to her calm façade, Retsu Unohana wasn't a woman to tolerate what he was accustomed to. Though, she'd never once tried to _make _him do anything. She just enforced what she would and would not accept.

"Why do you do that?" Her words were sudden, quiet.

It wasn't a common thing, but with her around, the factor would continue growing. It confused him, her question. And again, he hated it.

"What?"

"Go out of your way to scare people," she said, distressed. "It causes problems."

Like no one had ever told him that before. Actually, she'd been the only one, but that was besides the point. It was abnormal, having someone there to count the ways he'd screwed up. It wasn't that she actually went so far as to recite the list each time they were together, but she wasn't afraid to bring mistakes to his attention.

"Well?"

That's right. She was referring to her lieutenant. The cowardly one. It was funny, the way she froze whenever he was around, standing still like a deer trapped in the headlights of an oncoming car.

"You're impossible," she sighed when he didn't respond. "Well, if you don't want to be serious, then I suppose I'll just share with everyone your run-in with Shunsui."

Dazed or not, that had him sitting upright, watching her with suspicion. "You wouldn't."

It was misery to admit it, but she'd told him not to chance a run-in with Kyoraku after dusk. He just hadn't listened, giving way to curiosity, a trait that had a habit of backfiring. The bastard, being far too drunk to know up from down, hadn't even recognized Mayuri, taking him for a regular at the bar in the first Rukon district. As if he'd be so vulgar as to frequent such a place. Still, it had been fortunate that the idea to test his luck had struck him in the dead of night, after all traces of his "face" had been removed.

The rest was too hellish to recall, let alone imagine.

It had just been dumb luck that Retsu had been sitting on the veranda, almost as if she had known that he'd ignore her and investigate. She'd seemed pleased that he'd come to inform her of his mistake.

Fortunately, he hadn't had enough liquor to get drunk. All it had done was give him a buzz and a headache.

"No, I wouldn't," she said sweetly. "But you're still a fool for not listening."

Now it was back, that smile. The one that gave him the feelings of sinking and soaring. For a long time now, he'd given up on trying to decide which of the two was dominant. Hell, if it hadn't been her who drove him mad from the begining. If not, then he'd have to attribute it to his own nature. Truthfully, he hoped it was the former. It certainly would have explained all of this.

Her eyes were shining, electric, their message echoing in his head. Really, this woman was unpredictable. Calm as the breeze by the sea, then as stark and daring as snow against a blue sky.

"I never thought I'd see this, and so sincere." There it was, that lilt. The one that made him question everything and anything. "It's nice, after so long."

"Mm?"

She nodded, lips hovering inches from his own. "You're smiling."

More than anything, he was serious, very rarely exhibiting sincere emotion. That's what made them so strange, her words. It wasn't a common thing at all. But as of late, far more often than not, he'd catch himself with that damned grin on his face, and not the devious kind.

Her word was still echoing, like a bullet to the head, leaving no time for coherent thought. Not that he would have had time in the first place, as the statement, although surprisingly true, had been the opening she needed. Retsu had her hands against his chest, as if to measure his breathing, her mouth pressed firmly against his. It was times like this that he had reason to believe that her attraction had been a constant thing; that she'd only recently given it form.

She was silent, likely reveling in the way he squirmed when she crawled over him, lips to his throat. If anyone had a chance of breaking him, it would be her. There was never any force, just nimble fingers and the light scent that had found itself a permanent living space within his head.

"Off," she said, lifting her head away. Her hands smoothed out the dark fabric of his nightclothes, eyes as peaceful as the night.

"We're outside," Mayuri said, matter-of-factly. "And it's nearly dawn."

Retsu smiled, leaning in to kiss him again; a means of coercion. "I know. Off," she repeated.

She'd done it again, making him grin. "It must be spring. You just can't keep your hands off of me."


End file.
